title: Implications of understanding cancer stem cell (CSC) biology in head and neck squamous cell cancer.
abstract: Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world. Effective therapeutic modalities such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and combinations of each are used in the management of this disease. Efforts are ongoing throughout the world to improve early detection and prevention of HNSCCs. Often, treatment fails to obtain total cancer cure and this is more likely with advanced stage disease. In recent years it appears that one of the key determinants of treatment failure may be the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) that 'escape' currently available therapies. CSCs form a minute portion of the total tumour burden but may play a disproportionately important role in determining outcomes. Molecular mechanisms which underlie the genesis of CSCs are yet not fully understood and their detection within the total tumour bulk remains a challenge. Specific markers like Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), CD44 and Bmi-1 have shown early promising results both in CSC detection and in guiding treatment protocols. CSCs have been shown to be relatively resistant to standard treatment modalities. It is hoped that developing robust in vitro and in vivo experimental models of CSCs might provide a means of devising more effective therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: ENT Dept., Grant Medical College, B.R. Ambedkar Road, Byculla, Mumbai 8, India. drsuhailsayed@gmail.com
authors.forename: Suhail I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Sayed
authors.forename: Raghav C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katna
authors.forename: Anubha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nutting
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rhys-Evans
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Rehan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kazi
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D018307:Neoplasms, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
chemical_list: D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors